Tag Archives: divine power

The more we understand the fullness of God’s humanness in Christ, I believe the more I can see how much He loves me. He faithfully endured the cross and was forsaken by God for me even though he must have known that being forsaken by God would be excruciatingly painful.
Also, Jesus modeled faith for us. He showed us what perfect faith with perfect love for the Father looks like. We can believe Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith made human and still learn what our faith should look like by Christ’s example of faith in his Father.

It amazes me even more that not only did He become human and restrict his divine powers; he did not stop at simply being human. He became a humble human. In his humility he understood the preparation of being changed and changeable. He did not begin what we know as his official ministry until it was time; he was 30 years old! I must mention here that Luke 24:49 may be as good of a Great Commission as the Matthew passage we normally claim. Jesus is quoted in Luke, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” This is after he tells them about repentance and forgiveness of sins being preached in his name to all the nations. Not to diminish what is quoted in Matthew at all, this should be taken into consideration as well. Jesus tells them to wait and get prepared. How does this relate to us?

Certainly we are to make sure we are prepared in saying or acting in the name of Christ as we go about our daily lives. When we do so, we are to view others not just as highly as we view ourselves, but ‘better than ourselves’? Yes, better than ourselves. This could be the most difficult area when I ‘know’ I have better information than someone else on a certain matter. It seems to me we ought to consider the thick lenses each of us looks and thinks through as we perceive reality. We must understand there is always something to be learned from anyone else no matter how screwy or messed up we may think they are. We all have unique experiences and point of views that have their own unique qualities. My soccer coaching mentor told me he has learned how to learn from not only the best coaches he knows, but also the worst. One of the best lessons I learned during seminary is not only how much I do not know but how much humankind does not know about God. There is a process of recognizing and replacing our arrogance with humility. I must confess I still struggle with thinking I am better, or know better because of my age, position, or experiences.